Lamp fixture and shade support



Dec. 2, 1958 -r'r 2,863,040

. LAMP FIXTURE AND SHADE SUPPQRT Filed Dec. 20. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I Z50 Z70 29 320 IN V EN TOR. fife/mm J MAez/Err M512, Luv-W Arroe/veys Dec. 2, 1958 F. J. MARRIETT 2,363,040

LAMP FIXTURE AND SHADE SUPPORT Filed Dec. 20. 1955 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 29 I INVENTOR.

Fag/w: J. MHEE/ET'? United tates Patent:

LAMP FIXTURE AND SHADE SUPPORT Frank J. Marriott, Louisville,-Ky., assignorto Thomas Industries .Inc., Fort Atkinson, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application December 20, 1955, Serial No. 554,273

9 Claims. (Cl. 240-78) This invention relates to a lamp fixture and shade support.

A special fixture desirably provides offset and oppositely directed lamp sockets and has a centrally disposed pair of supporting arms which extend upwardly and have means for releasable and secure connection with a supporting canopy. Extension arms project below the fixture and constitute a yoke to provide for the attachment of a shade, usually in the form of a glass bowl which encloses bulbs mounted in the sockets of the fixture.

It is desired that the fixture have a connection-with the canopy which will be positive when fastened, but may be released readily through the use of an appropriate tool, the connection further being of such a nature as to make it unusually secure against dropping during manipulation. Accordingly a construction has been developed in which one of the arms attached to the fixture has a relatively rotatable key and keyhole-slot connection with the canopy at one side of the opening through which the wires issue to the fixture, the other arm extending through a hole in the canopy and being notched for releasable engagement with a snap-action spring in the interior of the canopy. The engagement of the spring with the last mentioned arm is a positive engagement, and even when released by'an appropriate tool, such release does not release the fixture but merely permits the retained arm to be withdrawn from the canopy and thereby to make it possible to rotate the fixture for the disengagement of the other arm from its keyhole slot. During use, the load imposed on the detained arm is minimized by the fact that the weight of the fixture and the shade carriedthereby arequite largely sustained by the arm which has the key and keyhole positive support from the canopy.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1- is a view in cross section through a ceiling mounted outlet box and canopy, the fixture being shown in side elevation and the supported shade being illustrated in section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the canopy and associated parts of the fixture.

Fig. 3 is a detail view taken in section on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3A is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified embodiment of the device in which the snap action spring has impositive engagement with the arm.

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective showing the canopy and a section of the fixture in the first stage of engagement or the final stage of disengagement with respect thereto.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing a second stage of engagement or disengagement of the fixture respecting the canopy.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the parts fully engaged.

The device is applicable to any conventional ceiling. A bridge strap 9 extending between the joists 10 and 11 supports the outlet box 12 to which the flexible cable 13 carries the wiring 14, 15.

ice

Mounted on the outlet box 12 isa plate 16 which supports canopy 17 in the usual way. The supply wires 14, 15 are connected within the canopy to the fixture wires 19, 20 which issue through the eyelet 21 of the canopy and enter the fixture 22.

The fixture 22 is of unusual design, having oppositely directed lamp sockets at 23 and 24 to receive the lamps 25 and 26. Mortised into the sides of the fixture 22 are the supporting arms 27 and 28 and the yoke arms 270 and 280, both in adjustable connection with the fixture. The yoke supports a stud 29;to which the nut 30 is threaded for the support of the bowl or shade 31. The usual bushing 320 may be interposed between the apertured bowl and the yoke to protect the glass.

At its upper end, the arm 27 has a ward portion 32 bent at right angles, between the arm and the portion 32 opposite notches are provided at 33. The margins of portion 32 beyond the notches function like the wards of a key bit. The canopy 17 is provided at 34 with a keyhole slot comprising a central port from which lateral notches extend as best shown in Fig. 5. With the arm 27 tilted as shown in Fig. 4 its laterally bent end 32 can be introduced into the keyhole slot in registration with the lateral notches of the slot. Thereupon the entire fixture is rotated from the position of Fig. 4 to that of Fig. 5 so that the laterally bent ward portion 32 of arm 27 rests on the unnotched surface of the canopy, the side margins of the canopy adjacent hole 34 being received into the notches 33 of arm 27. Thus a secure interlock is provided forthe support of fixture 22, and of shade 31, whether or not the arm 28 is engaged with the canopy.

At the opposite side of the eyelet 21 from the keyhole slot 34 another opening is provided at 35 in the canopy. Within this opening is a spring detent clip 36 having a base portion 360 anchored to the canopy by the eyelet 21 and which has upwardly convergent arms 37 as bestshown in Fig. 3. A small tongue 361 on the base 360 of the detent clip is engaged in the hole 35 in the canopy to maintain theupwardly convergent arms 37 of the clip centered above this hole to receive the bayonet end of the fixture-supporting arm 28.

In the Fig. 3 construction the arms 37 interlock positively with the shoulders provided at 40 on the fixture support arm 28. A downward pull on the bayonet arm 28 merely causes the ends of the spring clip to engage the bayonet-more securely. However, if the terminal portions, 38 of arms 37 are reversely bent outwardly as shown in Fig. 3A for-resilient engagement with shoulders '40 in the sides of the pointed. head 41 at the end of arm 28, the interlock will be impositive and can be released by a downward pull on the supporting arm 28 in a direction to pivot the fixture about the connection of the supporting-arm 27 with the canopy 17.

Even though the impositive connection thus provided by the construction of Fig. 3A is impositive and readily releasable by pulling downwardly on the arm 28 to tilt the assembly from the position of Fig. 6 to that of Fig. 5, nevertheless, since much of the weight is sustained directly by arm 27 from the canopy, the impositive support provided by the detent clip 36 is more than adequate to sustain the load imposed on arm 28.

In the construction of Fig. 3, it is necessary to insert a tool through the canopy slot 35 in order to pry the arms 37 free of engagement with shoulders 40 in order to release arm 28 from the canopy.

Yet the release of arm 28 and its disengagement from the canopy as shown in Fig. 5 is a prerequisite to the oscillation of the assembly in the keyhole slot to the position of Fig. 4, which is the only position in which arm 27 can be manipulated in and out of the canopy.

The resultis a connection between the fixture of the canopy which is perfectly secure and can be manipulated for engagement or disengagement very speedily whether the construction of Fig. 3 or that of Fig. 3A is used.

In'both devices engagement is achieved without tools;

By reasonof the adjustable connection of the shade supporting yoke with the fixture-supporting arms 27 and 28, the height of the shade with respect to the canopy can readily be modified as desired but the weight of the bowl or shade is carried from the canopy independently of the fixture.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination with a canopy and a fixture requiring support therefrom, the canopy being provided with a keyhole slot and a second slot laterally spaced from the keyhole slot, of a pair of fixture-supporting arms connected with the fixture and projecting upwardly, one of said arms having a terminal ward portion and having lateral notches for interacting engagement with the keyhole slot, the ward portion being receivable through the keyhole slot in one relative position and interlocked with the canopy in another relative position to resist withdrawal through said slot, the other arm having a head and the canopy being provided within the second mentioned slot with a spring detent clip releasably engageable with said head to provide support for the fixture and to maintain the ward portion of said one arm in said other relative position and against movement to said one relative position pending release thereof.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the canopy is provided with an eyelet anchoring said spring detent clip to the canopy and through which wiring connections to said fixture are provided. 7

3. The device of claim 1 in which the spring detent clip comprises upwardly converging arms, said head including shoulders positively engaged by the extremities of the arms of said detent.

4. The device of claim 1 in which said clip includes arms having convergent portions and divergent ends, said head having shoulders engaged by the divergent ends, the clip arms being resiliently yieldable by pressure of the shoulders against said divergent ends whereby the headed arm can be disengaged from said clip.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a canopy member and a lighting fixture socket member pendant therefrom, the improvement in a releasable oonnection between said canopy member and socket member which comprises dissimilar sets of arms and releasable arm couplings respectively connected to said members, one of said sets comprising part means relatively movable in one direction for releasably coupling said members and the other of said sets comprising part means relatively movable in a different direction for rearms in said slideways for adjustably mounting the shade from said socket.

7. The device of claim 5 in which the part means of said one set comprises relatively rotatable parts and the part means of said other set comprises relatively reciprocableparts.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with a canopy member and a lighting fixture socket member pendant therefrom, the improvement in a releasable connection between said canopy member and socket member which comprises dissimilar sets of jarms and releasable arm couplings respectively connected to said members, one of said sets of arms and couplings comprising ward means on said arm, said coupling being formed by a keyhole slot in one of said members, said member having ward supporting margins with which the arm ward is engageable on insertion into the slot and rotation therein, another of said sets of arms and couplings comprising a headed extremity on said arm, for which the coupling provides an aperture and a spring clip detent.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination with a canopy, a lamp fixture socket pendant therefrom and an arm interconnecting the socket and canopy, spaced apertures in the canopy, a clip mounted on the canopy and spanning both said apertures, said clip having an eyelet aligned with one of said apertures to pass wiring therethrough and a locking lug engaged with the other aperture to key the clip to the canopy, said clip having an aperture aligned with said other aperture in the canopy and a spring detent thereover for interlocking engagement with said socket arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,703,649 Weinstein Feb. 26, 1929 2,078,793 Flaherty Apr. 27, 1937 2,202,680 Zagel May 28, 1940 2,239,798 Tinnerman Apr. 24, 1941 2,461,786 Terr Feb. 15, 1949 2,559,641 Kruger July 10, 1951 2,680,841 Boutelle June 8, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 118,908 Sweden May 27, 1947 

